Float construction



FLOAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Deo. 19, 1962 Fifa.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 V VQ 56 .2716.2 y l d f3- 1| `3/` /////////V//////k///\///// y /0 137W E, 424W AGENT Jan. 12, 19654 'A AE. soENsEN 3,164,847

FLOAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VEN TOR.

E JNAR SORENSEN WM M AGEA/7' UnitedStates Patent() 3,164,847 FLGAT CGNS'ERUCTHON v Einar Sorensen, @il 2nd St., Santa Monica, Calif. Filed Dec. 19, i962, SerxNo. 245,732. 5 Claims. (Cl. 4-7-67) to a few years, the operation of these devices becomes.

erratic, and malfunctioning begins to occur with increasing frequency. The most common maufuction is failure of the Valve ball to seat properly, `thereby allowing water tordrain out of the tank as fast as it is admitted byv bhe oat-controlled rell valve. This highly annoying condition is usually the result of wear in the guidel or stem by which the valve ball is guided back down onto the seat; or it may be due to surface roughness caused by corrosion or lime deposits. As the guidance of the valve ball becomes loose andinaccurate, the valve ball tends to hang up, and can only be dislodged by jiggling the handle. This is not only a serious annoyance, but is also expensive, as a great deal of water can be wasted in a relatively short time.

Another common source of trouble in prior ushing mechanisms is the usual linkage connecting the llushing handle to the top end of the stem projecting upwardly` from the valve ball. Generally, this linkage vconsists of a stiff wire or` rod depending from the free end of the lift arm attachedto the flushing handle, and the bottom end of this wire is bent into a horizontal loop which encircles the"`stem and slides freely thereon. When the free end of the lift arm is raised, the said loop engages a sto-p at the top end of the stem, and lifts the stem,

thereby unseating the valve ball. The valve ball then rises by its own buoyancy until it reaches a' limit stop, where it is heid until the recedingfwater level within the tank causes the valve ball to drop back onto its seat. As the valve ball rises and dropsin the manner described, the stem slides up and down through the loop in the bottom end of the wire link. Surface roughness of the stem or loop due to corrosion or lime deposits, causes increased frictional resistance to the extent that the stem no longer slides Ifreely through the loop, but instead, hangs up occasionally, and again necessitates jiggling the handle. Y

With the present invention, these shortcomings ofthe prior' flushing mechanisms are completely eliminated. The valve ball is accurately guided back down onto its seat by a pair of widely spaced guide bearings which are so located, far apart from "one another, that the operation of the device is virtually unaffected by wear, corrosion or lime deposits. To obtain maximum spacing between the guide bearings,rthe said bearings are formed in the outer ends of two supporting arms which are attached to the overow pipe; the upper arm being attached to ICC instead, a wire loop `on the end of the lifting arm loosely surrounds the stem above the top guide support arm, and engages the underside of a limit stop knob on the top end of the stem. Both the loop and that portion of the stern egnaged thereby are well above the surface of the water at all times, and therefore are not exposed to corrosion or lime deposits. Moreover, there is nothing for the stem to hang up on, nor are there any parts that can become misaligned so that they bind on one another.

One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved float mechanism for the rell valve, which is extremely smooth-acting and reliable in operation, and virtually unadected by wear, corrosion, or lime deposits.

Another object of the invention is to providea rell valve float mechanism that is compact, easily installed and serviced, and inexpensive to manufacture.

Still another object is to provide a oat mechanism of the class described, in which the float is provided with an enclosed cavity, or chamber, that is partially lilled with water which is retained when the lioat is left vhanging, in the air by the `receding water level as the tank empties. y

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description ofthe preferred embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein;

` FGURE l is a sectional view through a toilet tank as seen from the rear, and showing in elevation a ilushing mechanism embodying the principles of the invention; Y

'FIGURE 2 is a top plan view ofthe same;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view, taken at 3-3 in FIGURE l;

'FIGURE 4 is a smaller view, taken at 4 4 in FIG- URE 1; v

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through `the `guide means surrounding the valve ball stem;

FIGURE 6 isi an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken at 6 6 in FlGURE l; and

FIGURE is avertical sectional view through the float that actuates the refill valve.

Aln, FIGURE l of the drawings, the reference numeral i@ indicates a toilet water tank having the usual lid 1l. Projecting through holes in the bottom of the tank are a discharge pipe l2 leading to a toilet (not shown) and a water supply pipe i3. A flushing handle i4 on the front of the tank iti is mounted on one end of a square rod l5,

which extends through and is rotatable within a suitable, bushing la inthe front wall of the tank.

The iiushing mechanism of the invention is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 2li, and comprises the very top end of the overiiow pipe, and the lower arm Y being located only a short distance above the top'end ofthe valve ball. The'guide stem projecting upwardly from the valve ball passes through `these bearings `and is freely-slidable therein. In order to accommodate this new guide bearing ararngement, the valve ball stemis extended about twice the usual lengthffor conventional flushing mechanisms, so that thetopof theI stem stands evenhigher than the top end of the overflow pipe; The {"risual linkage connecting the stem to the lifting Varm 1s `A completely eliminated in the present invention and a base member 2l formed integrally with the discharge pipe 12, an overflow pipe 22 which connects into the base member 2l and extends vertically upwardly therefrom, a

refill'valve 23 controlled by `a float 24, and abuoyant valveball 25. The .discharge pipe l2, base member 2l, and-overflow pipe 22 are preferably made of plastic, although theymay be made of brass or other rust-.proof material. The base member 2l has an upwardly facing valve seat 36B formed` thereon, whichreceives the valve bally 2,5. Projecting laterally from one'side of the base member 2 1 below the valve seat 3l) is an extension 31 having an internal cavity 32. The bottom end of the overflow pipe 22 isinserted through the top wall ofthe extension 3l and is rigidly connected thereto; the cavity 32 Y providing a connecting passageway from the overflow pipe material. The valve ball is hollow, providing an airspace 22. to the discharge pipe 12.

'The valve ball `25 is a conventional type in common use `at this time, and is usually made of rubber or equivalent which makes the ball buoyant when submerged in water. Screwed into a bushing (not shown) in the top of the valve ball is a stem 34 which extends upwardly therefrom to a point just above the top end of the overflow pipe 22. The stern 34 is a straight, slender rod of brass or stainless steel, and is preferably of circular crosssection, about one-eighth inch in diameter. Fixed to the top end of this stem 34 and concentric therewith, is a knob 35 having a iiat underside.

The stem 34 is supported for vertical sliding movement by two widely spaced guide support arms 36 and 37, which are mounted on the overiiow pipe 22 and project laterally therefrom. The upper arm 36 is secured to the overflow pipe 22 at the very top end thereof, and the lower arm 37 is mounted on the overflow pipe a short distance above the top of the valve ball 25. The two arms are identical in conguration, with one minor exception, and the following description therefore applies to both.

The guide support arms 36, 37 are preferably made of plastic, and each is formed with a split collar 4i) which surrounds the overflow pipe 22. Projecting laterally from the collar 40 on opposite sides of the split are ears 41, 41' which are apertured to receive a screw 42. The aperture in ear 41 is larger in diameter than the screw 42, so that the latter passes freely therethrough. T he aperture in ear 41 is threaded, and the screw 42 is screwed into it, so that when tightened up, the screw clamps the split collar 40 securely onto the overflow pipe.

Projecting laterally from the collar 40 at 90 degrees to the split is the straight portion that constitutes the arm itself, designated 36 or 37, as the case may be, and fixed to the outer ends of the arm are tubular bearings 43, 44. The bearings 43, 44 each has a cylindrical bore through which the stern 34 passes. The bore 45 of the upper bearing 43 is only slightly larger than the diameter of the stem 34, and therefore has only a small amount of clearance to assure free sliding movement of the stem through the bearing. The bore 46 of the lower bearing 44 is considerably larger in diameter than the stem 34, providing additional clearance between the stem and bearing bore so that the stem can shift sideways slightly to accommodate any minor misalignment between the bearings 43, 44 and the valve seat 30. This is best shown in FIG- URE 5.

The lower bearing 44 is disposed just a short distance above the top of the valve ball 25 and serves as a limit stop for the latter when the valve ball is lifted clear of its seat and its buoyancy causes it to seek to rise to the surface. The bearing 44 holds the valve ball at that level until the receding water in the tank causes the valve ball to drop back onto its seat.

The stem 34 and valve ball 25 are lifted to discharge the tank by means of an arm 50, which is clamped to the square shaft 15 of the flushing handle. The lift arm 50 has an internally threaded bore provided therein, and a screw-threaded rod 51 is screwed into the bore and locked against turning by a lock nut 52. At its outer end, the rod 51 is formed with a horizontally disposed, elongated loop 53 (best shown in FIGURE 6) which surrounds the stem 34 between the upper bearing 43 and the knob 35. The loop 53 normally rests on top of the upper bearing 43, as shown in FIGURE 1. When the handle 14 is pressed downwardly, the free end of the arm and rod 51 are raised, causing the loop 53 to engage the underside of the knob 35 and lift the stem 34.

The refill valve 23 is mounted at the top end of the overow pipe 22, and the valve itself is fixed to the top end of a second pipe 54, which lies closely alongside and parallel to the overflow pipe 22. Preferably, the pipe 54 is secured to the pipe 22 by a strap 57, which surrounds both of the pipes. Pipe 54 is actuallyan outer discharge pipe that is open at the bottom end, and extending upwardly through this outer pipe from the bottom end thereof, is an inner pipe 55, which is connected by a fitting 56 to the water supply pipe 13. Thus, water from the water supply pipe 13 is carried to vthe refill valve 23 through pipe 55, and is discharged by the valve 23 into the tank 1t) through the annular space between the inner pipe 55 and the outer pipe 54. Radially inwardly projecting ribs 6) on the inside of the pipe 54 center the inner pipe 55 therein, as shown in FIGURE 3. The valve 23 has the usual overflow pipe or tube 61, which extends down into the top end of the pipe 22, and is secured thereto by a stainless steel clip 59.

A pivoted actuating arm 62 projects from one side of the refill valve 23, and hooked into an aperture in the outer end of this arm is a stern 63, which is also in the form of a straight, slender rod of stainless steel or brass. The stem 63 depends from the arm 62, and its lower end passes through and is slidably engaged in a tubular bearing 64 at the outer end of a third guide support arm 65. The arm 65 is identical to the arms 36, 37, and is mounted on the overliow pipe 22 immediately above the lower arm 37.

The float `24 is mounted on the stem 63 intermediate the top and bottom ends thereof, and is preferably in the form of a hollow spherical ball made of plastic. The spherical ball float is made up of two virtually identical hemispherical sections 66 and 67 which are cemented together along their mating edges. Projecting inwardly from opposite sides of the ball are tubular sections 70 and 71, which are also cemented together at their abutting ends. The central bore 72 of the tubular sections 70, 71 is tapered slightly from top to bottom, being slightly larger in diameter at the top than at the bottom. The stem 63 passes through the bore 72, and is preferably formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced enlargements, or lumps, which are formed by pressing indentations 73 into one side of the stem with a stamping tool. The purpose of these lumps, or enlargements, on the stern is to provide a slightly roughened, or irregular, surface for better grip.

The iioat 24 is adjustably secured on the stem 63 by means of a rubber tube, or sleeve 74, which is tightly wedged between the stem and the tapered bore 72. When the float is pulled upwardly on the stem', the sleeve 74 is tightly squeezed between the bore 72 and the stem 63, securely joining them together. However, when the iioat is pulled downwardly on the stern, the taper of the bore 72 allows the'float to be pulled off the sleeve 74, and the latter can then be moved to a new position along the length of the stem 63, if desired.

Holes 76 are provided in the sides of the ball float 24 just below the seam 68, and water in the tank 10 enters the ball through these holes and fills the same to the level of the tops of the holes. This water that partially fills the ball is retained therein when the tank is emptied and the ball is left hanging in air by the receding water level, as shown in phantom lines in FIGURE l. The weight of water contained within the iioat is suicient to pull the actuating arm 62 down to the open position, as `shown in phantom lines in FIGURE 1. As the tank 10 is retilled, the water level rises about the still-hanging iioat and increasingly buoys it up until the water level is the same, both inside and out, at which point the downwardly directed force exerted on the float by the weight of the water is zero. When the water level in the tank rises above the water level on the inside of the float 24, the latter becomes buoyant and exerts an upward thrust on the Valve arm 62, ultimately moving the latter up to the closed position shown in solid lines in FIGURE 1. As mentioned hereinbefore, this arrangement has the advantage of permitting use of a relatively light weight iioat of plastic which still has sufficient weight, owing to the load of water that it carries, to pull the arm. down to the open position when the tank is emptied. On the other hand, when the tank is refilled, this weight of water is cancelled out by the buoyancy due to the water displaced bythe lioat, and only. a small amount of additional buoyancy is required to close the refill valve Z3. additional buoyancyris required to overcome the deadweight of solid ballast, as would be the case if the lloat art that various changes maybe made in the shape and arrangement of the several partsV without departing from the broad scope of the invention as dened in the following claims. ,i t

I claim:

l. In a flushing mechanism for use with a toilet tank s having'adischarge outlet valve seat, a valve ball seating thereon, an overflow pipe, and a water supply pipe, the improvement vcomprising a rell valve supported Von `said overflow pipe adjacent the top end thereof, said., re-

ll valve being connected to said water supply pipef and having a laterally projecting control lever which is movable vertically between open land closed positions, alstem loosely connected to the outer `end of said control lever and depending'therefronL `a float attached to said `stern intermediate the ends thereof, and a' guide arm attached to said overilow pipe and projecting laterally therej from in the vertical plane of said control lever, said guide arm having bearing means at its outer end slidably gaging said stem below said float. Y

2. A toilet tank refillingy mechanism as set forth in claim `l,`wherein said oat is provided with an enclosed CII- cavity and has apertures interrneidate the top and bottom `extremities of the float through which water mayV pass, Said cavity lling partially with water which is retained in the iloat to give the latter sulhcient weight so as to pull said larrn downwardly and thereby open said rell valve when the water -level within said tank drops belowV a .predeterminedleveh said weight due to water con# tained within said fliatA cavity being exactly counterbal` l4. A toilet tank retilling mechanism as set forth in claim 3, wherein said stem has a plurality yof longitudinally spaced enlargements formed thereon, and said means for functionally securing said iioat to said stem comprises a sleeve of elastomeric material tightly wedged between said tube and said stem, the interior of said tube being tapered from top to bottom, said sleeve having a tightV frictional grip on its outer surface with said tube, and on its inner surface with said stem, said oat being easily removed from said sleeve in the downward direction to permit adjustment of the sleeve and float to a new position on said stem.

5. A flushing mechanism for useV with a toilet tank i khaving a discharge valve seat, a vertically disposed overflow pipe, anda water supply pipe, said mechanism com prising a buoyant valve ball seating on said valve seat, a rod attached to said ball and projecting upwardly therefrom, a pair of vertically spaced arms attached to said overflow pipe and projecting laterally therefrom, one of said arms being mounted at the top end of said overflow `pipe and the other being disposed a short distance above the top of said Valve ball,` said arms having vertically aligned bearing apertures in their outer ends through Ywhich -said rod slides freely, the aperture of the top arm "provides a snugv sliding lit for said rod, and said bottomV aperture provides a loose sliding fit therefore, permitting anced by the weight of Lwaiter displaced by said oat when 'i the level of water in said tank reaches the level of the Y, water within said float cavity, said float being thereafter 'Y buoyed up by the air trapped Within said oat cavity Vas thelevel of the water in thetank` rises abovefthe level of the water in the iloat.v Y Y 3. A toilet tank refilling rnechanismas defined in claim 1, wherein said float is in the form of a hollow spherical ball having a vertical -tube running through the center thereof, the interior of said tube being'open at both ends, said stempassing through the interior. of said tube, and means forfrictionally securing said floatfto'saidV stem, whereby the iioat can be adjustably positioned along the length of the stemfthe Wall of said floatvball being apertured intermediate the upper and lower extermities of the float `ball to permit the'latter to till'partially with water, the weight of water contained within -the lower portion of said float ball being sufficient to pullsaid arm downwardly so as to open said refill valvewhen said tank i is emptied, and the buoyancy of the float ball -due to air trapped vwthin the upper portion thereof being suiiicient to pushv said 'valve arm upwardly to shut otf said retill valve when the tankis relled to a predetermined level.

`being only slightly larger in diameter than said rod,`and the aperture of the bottom arm being appreciably larger in diameter than said rod, whereby said top aperture said valve ball Va limited amount of lateral movement as it drops onto said seat, so as to accommodateany misalignment of said valve seat with respect to said bearing apertures, a rell valve supported adjacent-'the top end of said overflow pipe and connected to said water supply pipe, an actuating lever projecting laterally from said rell valve and movable vertically between open and closed positions, a stern loosely connectedto the Vouter end of said lever and depending therefrom, a hollow float attached to" said stem intermediate the endsthereof, said float beingfpartially filled with water which is retained within .the float to 'provide weight4 suflicent, to pull Vsaid lever downwardly to the open-valve `position when said tank is emptied, the-buoyancy of said oat dueto air space therein being'sufcient to push said lever upwardly to the closed-valve position when said tank is relled to a'predetermined level, and another laterally projecting arm fixed to said 'overilowpipe-and having a bearing.

aperture in its outer end which slidably engages the lower endiportion of said stern protruding below said float, so as to guide said float in `its vertical travel.

References `Cited inthe file of this patentl UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,168,742 oNeiu et ai. Aug. s, 1939 2,800,664 l Bridge heri.' July 30,1957 3,049,010 Heiderith 4..; Aug. 14, 1962 3,076,974 Sorensen Feb; 12, 1963 l 'f FOREIGNV PATENTS [384,347 Great Britain Dee.` 8, 1932 

1. IN A FLUSHING MECHANISM FOR USE WITH A TOILET TANK HAVING A DISCHARGE OUTLET VALVE SEAT, A VALVE BALL SEATING THEREON, ON OVERFLOW PIPE, AND A WATER SUPPLY PIPE, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A REFILL VALVE SUPPORTED ON SAID OVERFLOW PIPE ADAPTED THE TOP END THEREOF, SAID REFILL VALVE BEING CONNECTED TO SAID WATER SUPPLY PIPE AND HAVING A LATERALLY PROJECTING CONTROL LEVER WHICH IS MOVABLE VERTICALLY BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, A STEM LOOSELY CONNECTED TO THE OUTER END OF SAID CONTROL LEVER AND DEPENDING THEREFROM, A FLOAT ATTACHED TO SAID STEM INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF, AND A GUIDE ARM ATTACHED TO SAID OVERFLOW PIPE AND PROJECTING LATERALLY THEREFROM IN THE VERTICALLY PLANE OF SAID CONTROL LEVER, SAID GUIDE ARM HAVING BEARING MEANS AT ITS OUTER END SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID STEM BELOW SAID FLOAT. 